Maria Júlia Vieira, PhD candidate in the Doctoral Program in New Media at the University of Aveiro, researcher at DigiMedia Research Centre, and FCT Fellow, presented the paper “The Invisibility of Women Streamers in Game Studies” at DiGRA Conference 2026, one of the most prestigious international forums for research in game studies.

The paper presents the findings of a scoping review of the DiGRA library spanning 2020–2025. Out of 471 records analyzed, only 5 articles directly addressed female representation in live videogame streaming, a scarcity that points to a concerning gap between the social significance of the phenomenon and the academic attention it has received.

The study examines themes such as the emotional labor of female streamers, platform materialities, affective economies, queer conviviality, and gender performativity, proposing five priority axes for future research centered on social justice, digital equity, and intersectional perspectives in contemporary game studies.

This presentation reinforces DigiMedia’s commitment to critical and socially engaged research in the field of new media and digital culture.